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as St. Luke adds, ready to die, Luke vii. 2. SER M Now the Palfy we know is an entire Weakness of the whole Man, a Feebleness through every Part of the Body, a Loofening, as it were, of all the Joints, a Relaxation of the Nerves, a Diffipation of the Spirits, the Conduits and Source of all Motion and Life. Under this Disease the Patient is disarmed of all his natural Force, has no Strength to exert, no Power to execute, no Ability to help himself.

And what Diftemper of all we know; (and alas! to our Sorrow we know enough ; but which of them all) can better express an Heathen State? A State entirely helpless and weak; unable to form one fixed Refolution, or if it could, deftitute at least of Ability to perform one: a State void of Grace or Strength to fupport it in a Life of Religion here; and therefore continually trembling with the dreadful Fears and Apprehenfions of what shall befal or become of it hereafter. This was the State of the Heathen World, before Chrift vouchfafed to heal them, by imparting to them of his own Spirit: And therefore to fhadow out the Recovery of this State in the Miracle before us, he cures a Heathen Servant fick of the Palfy, and reftores

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SER M. ftores to him new Strength and Firmness of Life.

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He cures him, but how? By himself im mediately? Does he go and lay his own Hand upon him? No, fays my Text: He offers, it is true, to come and heal him. But the Sequel of the Relation fhews that he was prevented, and that he was prevented by an Anfwer of the Centurion, which feems to have been defigned by Providence to intimate that the Gentiles were not to expect their Salvation to be brought and offered them by Christ immediately, but that they must thankfully accept of it from others whom he should afterwards fend to preach it. The Children's Bread was not to be taken and caft to the Dogs: They must be content with the Crumbs that fall from their Master's Table, Matt. xv. 26, 27. Nor was Jefus fent, (as I have already obferved) but to the last Sheep of the House of Ifrael, ver. 24. There fore though the Centurion would have his Servant healed of the Palfy, and healed by Jefus's Power and Might; he yet knows that for Jefus to come in Perfon and do it, was too great an Honour for him to expect. Jefus indeed faith unto him, I will come and beal him. But the Centurion immediately anfwered

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anfwered and faid, Lord, I am not worthy SER M. that thou shouldst come under my Roof; but Speak the Word only and my Servant shall be bealed.

This I conceive may be brought closer to our Purpose, by the best and most authentick Reading in the Greek, Lord, I am not worthy thou shouldft come under my Roof, but Speak To A WORD * only, and my Servant fhall be healed, i. e. Only speak to, and commiffion, an Angel, and he fhall do it. Angels in our Saviour's Time were fometimes called Aóyoi, or Words. And if we

For

take Word in that Senfe here, we fhall understand the Centurion better in the following Verfe, and fee the Connection of the one with the other. Lord, I am not worthy that thou thyself shouldft come under my Roof, but only vouchfafe to speak to one of the Angels that attend thee, and my Servant Shall be healed. For I who am only a fubaltern Officer, a Man under the Authority of others, have yet fo much Power and Authority over the Soldiers that are under me, that I fay to this Man, Go, and he goeth, and to

*ETE λóyw, as in Luke vii. 7. See Mill in Matt. viii. 8. But compare and confider John iv. 50. καὶ ἐπίσευσεν ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῷ λόγῳ ᾧ εἶπεν, not ἂν εἶπεν.

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another,

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SERM. another, Come, and he cometh ; and to my Servant, Do this, and he doth it. If we read the Words thus, we plainly fee why the Centurion after the Request he makes to our Saviour, immediately fubjoins what Authority he himself had over the Soldiers that were under him. Whereas if we take our English Tranflation, and understand the Centurion to defire our Lord to heal his Servant, only by Speaking a fingle Word, without deputing his Authority and Commiffion to fome that were under him, it is more difficult to find out what it was the Centurion meant by the Words that follow. But the Sense I have given of it appears to be much the more natural and easy; and may be further confirmed by a Notion which the Jews had, that Deliverance from Difeafes was a Bleffing which God generally wrought through the Miniftry of Angels. Entire Health, which no Distemper precedes in the Body, they looked upon as a Bleffing which came immediately from God: But as we learn from the Holy Scriptures, that Diseases were sometimes inflicted by bad Angels (as is particularly remarkable in the Cafe of Job, whofe Boils were brought on him by the Power of the Devil, and may not a little be confirmed by

the

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the Inftance alfo of the Apoftle St. Paul, SER M.
whofe Thorn in the Flesh (whatever it was)
he tells us was a Meffenger, or (as it is in the
Greek) an Angel of Satan fent to buffet him,
2 Cor. xii. 7. As it appears, I fay, from
the Holy Scriptures, that Diseases were fome-
times inflicted by Devils; fo the Jews (at
leaft if Philo may be believed) had a Notion
that these Diseases were removed again,
when God commanded, by the Miniftry of
Angels. The Centurion therefore having the
fame Opinion, humbly begs and intreats our
Lord (whom he faw endued with a mighty
Power, and whom he therefore supposed to
have these heavenly Spirits at his Command)
he intreated him, I fay, that he would vouch-
fafe to depute one of them to heal his Ser-
vant, that lay at home grievously tormented.

Whether our Lord did really condescend to make Use of their Ministry, the Relation does not exprefly tell us : But if we may be allowed to pass our Conjectures from the Anfwer he made, it looks as if he did. For after he had expreffed his Surprize at the Greatness of the Centurion's Faith, and had intimated that fuch Faith would bring the Gentiles from the East and from the Weft to fit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob